Method of photography



A -n 23, 1940. R. 5. JOHN 2.198.115

IETHOD or I PHOTOGRAPHY 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 11.1.1 23, 1940, R, mm 2.198.115

11511101: or rno'roeurm Filed April 2, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 l lllllllllllllllll R. 8. JOHN METHOD OF PHOTOGRAPHY Filed Apri April 23, 1940.

1 2, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 fierafirz ZerZ' 176k l 1940. R. 5. JOHN 2.198.115

T1100 01 IHOTOGMPHY Filld Api'il 2, 1936 4 ShlOtl-Shiit 4 Patented Apr. 23, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF PHOTOGRAPHY Robert 8. John, Waukegan, Ill. Application April 2, 1936, Serial N... 12,415

tclaima.

This invention relates to a method of photography, and more particularly to a method of optically reproducing large surfaces without the use or a lens or other expensive equipment.

Photographic methods have heretofore been confined principally to the use of lenses and pinhole cameras. Neither of these methods is satlsfactory for indoor photographing of large surfaces such as printed pages in books and masszines. By means of the presentinvention', it is possible to reproduce inexpensively, printed rec ords of all types. 1

The invention is illustrated in the drawings, in

Fig. l is an end elevation partly in section of a photographic apparatus; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal elevation of a device; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation taken along the line I in Fig. 6;

Fig. 4 is a plan view partlybroken away of the mounted in a carriage I supported by the wheels 0 and 1. A supply roll I, carrying sensitised paper u is enclosed in a unit-pm: housing 0 from which paper is fed under therolls, II and I2 parallel to the object photographed and onto the roll It where the exposed paper is accumulated.

As shown in Fig. 5 the parallelher unit I consists of a plurality of spacing plates 2 and crimped members I between the plates. The plates 2 are preferably as thin as possible, shim material, say one thousandth inch in thickness being preferred. The crimp members I are of similar material, generally metal, which has been crimped as indicatedin the drawing. The crimping preerably is done to produce degree angles and thus give maximum light opening for the structure. In the structure shown the distance from 45 peak II to peak It is of the order of .02 inch. A parallelizer unit so built up will pass as much as 80% of the light presented to it. The peaks are preferably staggered from row to row so that light will be passed from all points as the parallelizer is moved over an object.

It is preferred to use a heavy strap or plate 81 at intervals of 15 to 50 plates in order to provide strength for the device. Normally this will be usedabout every25 spaces. Astrap asheavyas ll .04 inch may be employed.

The driving. mechanism is best illustratedin Figs.2 and 3 in which a motor I4, which may be either electrical or clock mechanism or other-- wise, is mounted on top of the carriage I. The end of the drive shaft It of the motor carries a 5 gear IT driving a gear ll mounted on the shaft It. A second gear 20 is likewise carried on this shaft and drives the gear 2| on shaft 22. This shaft extends to the end of the carriage and on the end of it is mounted gear 23 which drives 1 Bear 2| on the shaft 25. This shaft also carries gear 2t which drives gear 21 in an opposite direction from 2|. Gear 21 is mounted on the square shaft 28 which is operatlvely connected to the roll I3 upon which the exposed paper is wound. 15

The gear 2| also drives gears 29 and It, and these in turn operate the wheels I and I by means of the gears II and l2.

Gear 20 is a double width gear and likewise drives the roll I2 through the gear 32 which is set all behind gear 2|. Idler gear II, which is not in contact with the paper, is driven by wheel I2 and itself drives wheel It. The arrangement of these rolls is shown in detail in Pig. 4, the drive being communicated from I2 through II and it through 25 the gears 34, SI and N. The sprocket wheels 31 and it are mounted on the ends'of rolls I2 and III, respectively, to drive the paper. All three rolls are journalled in the metal strip 8! depending from the strap 40.

A light 4| is mounted within the housing and is preferably a tungsten light of the elongated filament type. The lens 42 is shown focussing the light upon a page 43 to be copied. With the proper filament, however, a lens is not required. so The lens also serves as a heat and air baille.

The light is reflected from the object it through the parallelizer I and onto the sensitized paper below the rolls. The paper is then passed into the housing 43 where it comes in contact with the 49 rubber flaps 44 mounted on the roller It. These flaps, which are thin and flexible, grasp the paper and wind it tightly upon the roll II, the rubber flaps collapsing thereunder. As shown in Fig. 6, the roll I! is in frictional contact with the wheel as 45 mounted on the square shaft 2. and is pressed into frictional engagement therewith by the spring 48 mounted on the shaft 41, carried on the knob It. In order to remove paper from the housing, the screw knob 48 is removed after so which the plate 40, which is held in frictional engagement in the housing 43, is removed and the entire roll I3 withdrawn. therefrom. A tear-off edge it is provided within the housing to tear oi! the sensitized paper. II

In the device it is important that both the light ii and the parallelizer shall be mounted as close to the paper as possible. This is particularly true of the parallelizer unit, which should be mounted within half an inch of the paper. If this distance is materially exceeded, enough light will be picked up in diverging rays to materially damage the image.

The machine moves across the paper, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3, in the opposite direction that the sensitized paper moves through under the rolls iii and If. The image given by this machine, however, is laterally reversed-that is, it will give the same type of image as a mirror. It is therefore employed with thin sensitized paper and after development the image is read through the paper.

In Figs. 7 and 8 are shown various arrangements for obtaining a direct image through the employment of a mirror. As shown in Fig. 8, the light 4! is focussed through the lens 42 on the paper 43, is reflected against the mirror II and through the parallelizer l. The arrangement shown is diagrammatic, the mirror and parallelizer actually being kept close to the paper. For this arrangement a direct image can be produced where desired, providing the angle of the mirror and of the parallelizer are kept within exact limits. The arrangement shown in Fig. '7 produces a similar result by the use of two parallelizers l and la and a mirror 52. In these devices where the image is reversed with the mirror, the paper is passed through the apparatus in the same direction as the movement thereof.

In all instances, of course, the speed of the paper and the speed of the apparatus are correlated so that the photograph is the same size as the object.

It is possible by means of the apparatus to produce enlarged images by advancing the sensitized paper at an angle with respect to the object photographed instead of parallel, as shown in Fig. 3. In such an instance an enlargement, proportional to the secant of the angle at which the paper is passed with respect to the object, is secured. Of course, where this is done the speed of movement of the paper must be increased accordingly.

The parallelizer unit I must be of a depth greater than any cross-sectional diameter of an opening, and preferably is very considerably deeper. The cross-sectional dimension of any opening should not greatly exceed .01 inch. While the device has been shown in the form of straight line openings, in straight line units, the parallelizer may be bent either longitudinally or transversely; but in the first case the openings are still straight and parallel, whereas in the second case, they will be curved and parallel. In this latter instance, the light is passed through the openings by reflection along the wall, the curves not interfering materially therewith.

The term parallel as used herein includes therefore its ordinary geometrical meaning and also its spacial meaning, thus two concentric circles are considered parallel. Likewise, the convolutions of a spiral are considered substantially parallel.

While an arrangement has been shown herein in which a single light and an inclined parallelimr has been used, a vertical parallelizer with lights on each side may be desirable in certain instances where more illumination is required. In such a case the parallelizer will be preferably bevelled on the lower end to provide a space for the light to enter from the side.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible, in view of the prior art.

I claim:

1. A photostatlng apparatus comprising a bundle of thin plates spaced from each other and crimped to provide a multitude of parallel small passageways therethrough, a light, means for passing said bundle and said light over a surface to be photographed with one end of said bundle closely adjacent to said object whereby it picks up reflected light therefrom transmitting substantially parallel rays only of said light through said passageways, and means for passing sensitized paper over the opposite end of the bundle whereby the transmitted rays of light producing on the sensitized paper an image of the surface to be photographed.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which the means for moving the plates and the means for moving the sensitized paper are correlated to produce the same rate of speed for both.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which the light-receiving end of the thin plates is not over one-half inch above the bottom of the apparatus.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which a mirror is provided between the object to be photographed and the light-sensitized paper to reverse the image thereof.

5. The method of photographing which comprises advancing a multitude of closely associated parallel passageways over an illuminated object, with one end of the passageways in close proximity thereto, and the other end in close proximity to a sensitized medium, and moving the sensitized medium at a speed to produce a reproduction the same size as the image.

6. The method of photographing which comprises advancing a multitude of closely associated parallel passageways over an illuminated object, with one end of the passageways in close proximity thereto, and the other end in close proximity to a sensitized medium, the sensitized medium being held at an angle to the object and moving the sensitized medium at a speed greater than the speed of movement of the illuminated object with respect to the passageways, the sensitized medium being moved in substantially the proportion of the secant of the angle between the sensitized medium and the object.

ROBERT S. JOHN. 

